The way it was supposed to be
by XinouCho
Summary: Many thought he was secretly a romantic type. Many thought she was secretly wishing upon stars. But none of those rumors were true. They were, as real as they could be. Okay, okay, no, let's face it, one day, Tenten will fall for Neji, and another day, Neji will fall for Tenten. Lee will be there with the popcorn. NejiXTenten Rated T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey guys, before you read, (or like me, you sometimes skip this part) hey look, a hedgehog.. ok... sorry about that.**

**It's my first posted fic of Nejiten, whom I cherish the bond, but also despise because they'll never be together IRL. **

**ANYWAYS, it was really hard for me to write it according to the anime/manga (i might even have failed already) because their relationship is so specially carved for friendship that if you try to twist it into lover's love, it kind of shatters apart, and gives both the reader and writer unrealistic plots and character development (not trying to sound expert-ish here, just saying) **

**So, please read, R&R, her her her, **

* * *

**The way it was supposed to be**

**Many thought he was secretly a romantic type. Many thought she was secretly wishing upon stars. But none of those rumors were true. They were, as real as they could be. **

Tenten wasn't the most gossiping girl in town; but she definitely was one of them. Just yesterday, she heard from Ino that Hinata finally mustered up her courage and confessed to Naruto… almost.

"She was serious about it," Ino told her, "but she just couldn't take the pressure… it was too much, so she fainted."

This made Tenten wonder. Every shinobi and kunoichi in Konoha was slowly pairing up. Sakura was engaged to Sasuke-whom-was-back-and-became-a-good-guy-again. Ino was still struggling between Sai and Shikamaru, who, apparently, has a thing for Temari. Hinata was more and more seen with Naruto, much to the objections of her overly protective cousin, Neji.

Yeah, about Neji… what was he up to these days?

Missions, she guessed. Being an ANBU was a tough job.

She was only a jounin.

"Well… at least I'm a jounin…" she walked alone in the busy streets of her beloved village. She wanted to get stronger, and surpass Neji, so that she can show him her true talent as a shinobi.

But how?

"Tenten, Neji's back!" Lee ran from across the street and yelled.

"Really?"

She was excited, and her body was shaking from ecstasy. Without any further conversation with Lee, she rushed to the village's gate to greet the returning ANBU.

"Neji, welcome back!" she welcomed him warmly with a friendly hug, which he accepted with delight after a tiring trip from the Land of the Mist.

"I'm worn out," he complained.

"Wow, Hyuuga Neji is actually tired," she joked, "you want me to help you with the stuff?"

He nodded, and Tenten grabbed his heaviest bag and made their way to the mansion. She knew the way by heart, since she had to go there at least once a week.

No, not for Neji. Their girl's gossiping council was located there, with Hinata as the big boss. Surprising, I know. The quiet ones are always secretly evil.

"How did it go?" she asked.

Neji collapsed on his bed and started snoring gently. She was about to punch him when she realised how peaceful he looked when he slept. Without the usual frown and glare, Hyuuga Neji was a masterpiece.

A girly masterpiece, she giggled silently under her sleeve.

Seeing him in deep slumber, she decided to make her way out.

"Tenten…"

She paused, shocked. Did Neji just call her?

"Yes?" she turned around, only to find him snoring.

God, Hyuuga Neji talked during his sleep. Tenten's mind was blown to pieces. He seemed so earthy… so normal right now. He wasn't a prodigy, nor a genius, but just an average guy snoring.

"Tenten… pass me the kunai…"

She resisted the sudden urge to slap him across the room. To be honest, she thought that he was going to confess his undying love for her, or say something about how she was essential in his life.

She shook her head, still mocking herself for thinking like that. Neji was her team mate, nothing more, nothing less. She just had to make sure sometimes.

She closed the door gently, and exited the Hyuuga mansion.

In his room, Neji was still snoring like a boss.

"Tenten… pass me the kunai…"

* * *

**Hehehe... first chapter... second chapter will be up in a week or two, since i'm on vacation but i also want to have fun (not that writing stories for you guys isn't fun) **

**Suggestions about how it ends will be HIGHLY RECOMMENDED since i don't know myself. **

**Tell me if you prefer that they stay friends or become a bit more close then friends OR GET FRIGGIN MARRIED haha**

**tell me, im curious :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hey guys, second chapter is up! Thank you guys for your encouraging reviews, i enjoyed reading them over and over again to remind me how awesome i am (nah, jokes, i'm really boring) **

**Anyways, this chapter isn't packed with action, but with more 'humor'? or 'lame humor' and inner emotions revealing and flashbacks.., cuz i don't really write humorous stories. I tried, because that's what most people like to... read? or am I wrong... because i'm more of an angsty, tragedy fan... **

**I put more than one Hunger game reference (sorry for those who don't like hg) it's not that im a hardcore fan, it just... BOOM LOOK A HUNGER GAME REFERENCE! haha, ok, you can read the story now. or you can read this small poem i wrote... lower.**

**once again, THANK YOU! MUA MUA MUA~~~~~~~~**

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The weapon mistress couldn't exactly describe what she was feeling the instant where she'd hope that the Hyuuga would confess his feelings to her. It was almost like she'd wanted it to happen.

_Well darn, Tenten, maybe you're in love_, she thought, but quickly cancelled the possibility.

You see, it's not that she didn't want to be in love with Neji.

She just couldn't afford to think that way.

They had no future together. A Hyuuga was a Hyuuga, and a no-name kunoichi stayed a no-name kunoichi. She's heard Neji complain many times to his uncle when waiting for him outside of his gigantic mansion.

"I'm sorry you had to assist to that," he'd say to her apologetically.

"But, do you really have to marry someone like Hinata?" she'd ask with a bit of reluctance.

"Not Hinata-sama… she's from the main branch. I must marry someone from my branch. I don't know who, though."

"…Oh…"

And the conversation would end there.

Being an orphan, Tenten had always wanted to found a family. She envied those like Neji, who had a clan, and a last name filled with pride and glory to it. Or like Temari, whom she met frequently after their battle at the Chuunin Exams; she had siblings.

_Now, Tenten, you're just trying to sound dumb…_ she convinced herself mentally that she was acting silly.

The sun was setting, and the streets started getting more and more quiet. Tenten watched the beautiful scene from her only window in her small, desolate apartment. She lay on her bed, stripped from her usual training outfit. Her headband was lying on her little desk beside her bed, and the curtains were drawn close.

It was silent in her room, absolutely silent.

"Good night, Tenten," she whispered to herself.

"Goodnight…" she whispered again, as if answering to that.

The night passed silently, but another man couldn't sleep.

Neji cursed himself the hundredth time for oversleeping during that day and not being able to sleep during the night. It was his little weakness; he had sleep management problems. The only person to whom he revealed his little secret was… of course, not Lee, because he would drag him off training at midnight.

"Let our potential youth power explode at its maximum when the potential of others are at their minimum!" he would surely say.

He only told Tenten about his problem, after training, he told her under a big oak tree.

"I can't sleep during nights," he had confessed.

"Really? I thought Hyuuga Neji was flawless," she'd snicker at his weakness, but he genuinely didn't mind.

"Tenten-san…" he warned.

Tenten stopped immediately. Never tease Neji when he adds a '-san' to your name, especially her. It was like their sign, their 'stop-it-or-I'll-break-your-neck' kind of stuff. Of course, no necks were harmed during the process of this agreement.

"Okay, okay, sorry…" she smiled her sweetest smile, and Neji's heart softened.

Back to reality, Neji finally yawned. He let out a silent cheer for finally wanting to sleep. He quickly regained his bed, and pulled the sheets over his head, snuggling in the fabric.

"Neji-san, time to wake up!" a maid knocked on his door.

WHAT? Neji jumped up from the bed, and cursed silently. It was morning, it was… freaking morning. He opened his curtains, and saw the sun rising up in the sky.

"DAMN it."

* * *

**the poem is called 'hey look a lama'**

**hey look a lama**

**hey look a lama**

**hey look a lama**

**a lama with a tail **

**WOW!**

**fantastic baby... (any kpop fans here.. or haters? doesnt matter I LUV YOU ALL! ) please R&R, and enjoy the story!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello my dear readers, I have finally finished writing the third chapter of this magnificent story. It was not easy, especially with annoying little girls asking to turn up the volume of their TV show because my grandmother is sawing wood in the garden. Ah, there she goes again...**

**Anyways... I have finally decided to make Neji and Tenten encounter and added some action around them. This chapter is mainly about how Neji's pokerface is effective during awkward conversations. It's not like Neji to publicly announce his most intimate thoughts, so I just thought of hinting them during the whole chapter. Tenten, being the cute and innocent girl as she is, wouldn't notice these things, OF COURSE. So that's why I employed Hinata, Sakura, and Ino to kind of help her with it. **

**Also, I added a- wait omygosh i didn't even realise that i didn't write any disclaimers...**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT, EVEN IF I WISH I DID OWN Itachi, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Deidara, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Gaara, Sasori, Sai, Yamato, Ero-sennin, Tsunade, Minato, Kushi- oh sorry! i was getting out of control. **

**I don't own naruto (goes crying in a corner)**

**back to the top, just saying that i added my own character in it, because i didn't want any naruto characters to play the 'bad' part. No that she's evil or anything, she just needs to be there as an obstacle for nejiten. Haha, anyways, R&R, enjoy!**

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Morning hit Tenten as well. She rose from her comfy sheets and tidied herself for a very special and important date.

That's right. Konoha's gossiping girls were having a meeting at Hinata's house, and she was one of their members. While styling her hair, she couldn't get the right bun to hold in place.

_Thank god it's not during a mission, or I'll be a goner. _

But, that usual wasn't a good sign. Remember, readers, when Tenten's right bun can't hold in place, an impending disaster will happen. On the contrary, if it's her left bun, something fabulous is going to happen. Last time her left bun refused to get fixed, she passed her Chuunin exam.

Finally, she gave up, and walked out with her waist-length hair loose and floating in the wind.

_I'm sure they'll accuse me of purposely letting my hair down…_

She arrived before the monstrous Hyuuga mansion, and asked for Hinata at the door.

"Do you have an official rendezvous paper signed and approved by any of the Hyuuga elite?" the guard asked.

"Um… NO."

"Then, please leave immediately, or else we'll have to take you out by force."

Tenten sighed. This was exactly why Ino, Sakura and Temari were strongly against holding the meetings here. The Hyuuga mansion changed guards every week, and the meetings were of every two weeks. Obviously, each time they'd want to enter, they had to have some random paper signed by some random white eyed dude.

"But, I'm here for the… meeting…" she refused to say 'gossip'.

"Which meeting? Mister Hyuuga holds three meetings a day."

"Tenten!" a voice popped out suddenly from inside the house.

She squint her eyes to see Hinata running towards her with a worried look on her face.

"Hi Hinata!"

Without answering her back, she started pushing her towards the doors.

"Um… today's meeting is going to be at Sakura's house!"

"What? My house?" a confused Sakura appeared beside the door, followed by a half awakened Ino, "Who said my house? Since when?"

Hinata groaned with annoyance. She tried to push Tenten even farther from the mansion, but was stopped by the weapon mistress.

"Hinata, what is going on?" she asked with a serious tone.

"Nothing! It's just… my room is messy!"

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" Ino added, a bit irritated by her friend's abnormal behavior.

"No… it's just…" Hinata started panicking. Her face turned bright red and she started stuttering like back when she was young.

"Hinata-sama, what are you doing?" a male voice behind the girls asked.

Tenten heard Hinata mutter something under her breath, and almost lost hers when she realised to whom that voice belonged to.

"Hi… Neji…" she managed to articulate.

"Good morning… Tenten," he greeted back, while staring at her beautiful cascading chocolate hair.

"We were about to go to Sakura's house, nii-san! Let's go, Tenten…" Hinata became even more red and stuttering.

She tried to push the girls away, but was interrupted by another voice: a female one.

"Neji-kun, who are these people? Are they your friends?"

Tenten turned around briskly, and came face to face to another pair of white eyes. She was a bit taller than her, with shoulder-length dark brown hair.

She didn't have the time to fully examine her 'opponent' when her thoughts got interrupted by Neji.

"She's my…"

Instinctively, he glanced at Tenten.

"She's Emi Hyuuga, a member of the Hyuuga branch family," he started uneasy.

"Ah, nice to meet you! I'm Tenten," Tenten, being the candid and cheery one, happily greeted her; "I'm in Neji's team."

The others did the same thing as well.

"Ah, so you're Tenten," Emi pointed out, "Neji's told me a lot about you."

"Ah, is that so?" she grinned at Neji, who simply avoided her eyes. If Hinata had activated her Byakugan, she would have noticed a slight change in Neji's heartbeat rates. But, nothing was uncovered.

"Well, Neji's never told me about your… existence, if I may say so," she continued the conversation.

"Ah really? I guess he wanted it to be a surprise then."

"A surprise?" Tenten asked, curious, "what surprise?"

"Ah! Tenten! Let's go have the meeting, or else we're going to be late," Hinata pushed her friend towards the street.

"But… Temari's not even here yet!"

"Just… go," Hinata's voice sounded hard as rock.

Tenten was taken aback by her sudden change of attitude. She obeyed quietly and followed Hinata to Sakura's house, not even saying goodbye to Neji and his friend. Sakura and Ino followed behind, seeming to have noticed some things.

Neji simply stood there, watching Hinata and Tenten leave. He sighed.

"_So that's why the maid woke me up this morning…" Neji murmured as he watched his uncle enter in the conference room._

"_She'll be here in a minute, I want you to keep her company and forge a primitive bond with Emi," his uncle instructed him. _

"…_yes, uncle." _

"_Neji, why did my father call you to his room?" a worried Hinata asked Neji when he came out._

"_Emi's is coming to visit."_

"_Emi? You mean the family that left the clan?"_

_Neji nodded. _

"_So… they're coming back…"_

"_Uncle expects me to marry her someday."_

"_WHAT?" Hinata blurted out, "what about Tenten?"_

_Neji chocked upon hearing her words._

"_W-what do y-you mean about… Tenten?" his voice softened when he pronounced the name. _

"_She's coming over today! What will she think of when she sees you with…Emi?" _

_Neji remained silent. True, he didn't want Tenten to see him with Emi, but, at the same time, he wanted that to happen. _

"_Tenten's my team mate and one of my closest… my closest friend_. _She should know about this. I tell everything to her."_

"_Did you ever tell her that you love her?"_

"_No. What on earth are you talking about?" Neji immediately denied. _

"_You even told your sleeping habit to her… so… why can't you be serious with your feelings?" Hinata sounded grown and mature for once, before almost fainting to her cousin's comeback._

"_Well, neither are you with Naruto. God forbid your relationship."_

_There was an awkward silence between the two Hyuuga, some glaring and staring, until Hinata spoke._

"_I'm not letting Tenten get hurt. I know she loves you too."_

_And with that, she left and disappeared in a corner, leaving a dumbfounded Neji with his many mixed emotions scattered a bit everything in his heart. _

Neji stood motionless beside the Hyuuga gate. Emi had poked him many times, but he had no reaction at all.

"You love her don't you?" Emi asked.

"No, I do not love Tenten."

"Are you sure?"

This time, he said nothing.

* * *

**Phew! Took me a real long time to come up with this. Please tell me it's not disappointing! PLEASE.**

**anyways, here's another HAIKU that i came up with**

** neji is sitting**

** while tenten does the laundry**

** their kids are snoring**

**AWN! you know you love haikus**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N hi guys, not sure if you would like how it ends, but anyways, here it is, the last chapter! YAY!**

**R&R please, and I DO NOT FOR THE SAKE OF PETE OWN FRIGGIN AWESOME BUTT KICKIN NARUTO! sadly... **

* * *

"I'll punch whoever that decided to change the meeting location."

The late Temari sat on Sakura's couch with the four other kunoichi, eyeing them curiously as none of them replied to her statement.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?"

Tenten glanced at Hinata. Her behavior was really weird for a calm, collected Hyuuga. She tried to ask her why, but every time Hinata would look at her the way she looked at a motherless child: pain, pity, and other things Tenten really loathed.

"Hinata…" Sakura tried to approach her, "please tell us what's going on."

"Yeah," Ino added, "why did you not let us talk to your cousin? Who was that woman we saw with him? Why are you so weird today?"

Hinata sighed, and looked at a still clueless Tenten.

_Poor her,_ she thought.

"It's like this…" she started off, "Tenten, I'd like you to answer a question full-heartedly, or else I'll ask Ino to use her mind switching jutsu."

"Um… well, okay…" Tenten agreed.

_Depends on the question though…_

"Do you like or love my cousin, Neji Hyuuga?"

She almost spit the water she was drinking.

_Cough, cough… WHAT?_

"I-I…." she stuttered, "I-I don't…"

"Really," Hinata replied, using the highest level of sarcasm she could reach.

"FINE, anyway, you already know…" Tenten corrected herself quite quickly.

"Hinata's weird today," Temari whispered to herself.

"Tenten," Hinata became serious as she tightened her grip unto Tenten's hands, "Neji and you… it's not possible."

"I know," she laughed.

"You know?" the others all blurted out.

"Yeah," she grinned, "Neji's always told me that he would have to marry a Hyuuga girl… I know it's not possible for me to date him or whatsoever…"

Well, revelations never cease.

"The girl… Emi, she's his soon-to-be fiancée…"

Tenten's Styrofoam cup was crushed by her sudden shake. The room was now silent.

"I see…" she tried to sound presentable, "I didn't expect that to happen."

"Tenten," Hinata tried to comfort her.

"It's okay, really. I knew this was going to come… just… not THAT quickly."

"PEOPLE!" Ino screamed at the top of her lungs, "WE'VE GOT TO GET TOGETHER! WE'RE FRIENDS! WE'RE STRONG!"

Tenten nodded to her sudden outburst.

"Let's get drunk tonight," Temari said casually.

Everyone dropped dead.

"T-Temari-san…"

"What? There's nothing better than to drink when you're sad!"

"I'm not sad," Tenten sweat dropped.

"Oh darling, by the way you're acting, I can tell you're in deep pain…"

"R-Really…"

They spend the rest of the day laughing, enjoying life, and not worrying about boys or whatsoever that caused drama. As usual, despite the other girls' willpower, nothing stopped Temari from getting drunk and dragging Sakura and Ino into a catfight. Hinata tried to break them up, and ended getting a bit drunk herself from Temari's awesome drinking skills.

"…I bet Naruto-kun likes girls that can drink," she whispered deviously into Hinata's ear.

And before you knew it, Hinata was a goner.

"Call the cousin… call her damn cousin…" Temari muttered before passing out.

And so, Tenten called Neji. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, and a very tired Neji appeared before her.

"Wow… you look tired…"

"You don't say," he shot back.

She opened the door for him, and led him into the living room where Sakura and Ino were still tangled with each other; Hinata was laying on the couch.

"I'll carry her… I really shouldn't have called you… you're a mess," she scolded him.

She gently placed a sleeping Hinata on her back.

"Thanks, Tenten."

"Don't mention it."

If you were an average passenger walking on the streets of Konoha at 11 p.m., you would've seen a hunched back Hyuuga Neji, walking next to a girl whom was carrying another Hyuuga. It was indeed a very interesting sight.

"How come you're so tired?"

"Emi nagged me the whole day."

"…oh…"

They reached an intersection. Tenten could've swore that the Hyuuga mansion was two streets further to the left, but Neji kept insisting that she was mentally retarded and it was five streets to the right.

"I tell you, it's to the left!"

"It's my home, Tenten; I know where I'm going."

They walked another street, and Neji offered to carry Hinata, since he wasn't so tired anymore, magically.

"So… since Hinata dragged me off today, I couldn't really have a chance to talk to… Emi. What's she like?"

Neji shrugged.

"She's… nothing special, really."

_Not as unique as you…_ he secretly thought.

"I heard from Hinata that it's your fiancée."

Neji kept silence. Was he going to say 'hell yeah it's my future wife', or deny the obvious truth?

"She is…"

"How is it, I mean, to have to marry someone you don't love," she asked, by mere curiosity, until something struck her, "or unless, you do love her… do you love Emi?"

She sounded like a fangirl; the thought of even behaving like one disgusted her.

"I'm sure I don't even know what love is yet. For Emi, I don't feel anything I shouldn't feel."

They crossed another intersection, the same problem occurred. Tenten knew it was to the left, but Neji kept saying that it was to the right. Of course, he finally persuaded her by betting with his own Byakugan.

"The night is beautiful…" Tenten sighed, as they walked some more.

"Everything around me is beautiful," he said, and turned to look at Tenten.

She felt her skin temperature rise, and before she knew it, Neji poked her.

"Yes, Tenten, I think you're gorgeous."

She stood there, with him smirking at her. Her brain analysed the situation quickly. Neji Hyuuga just openly complimented her on her appearance.

The best part was, he wasn't finished yet.

"…I think whenever you train, the way you handle the weapon, and the way you smile victoriously after any battle, you look really attractive. Every time I spend time with you, I enjoy myself much more than at the compound. I hurts me to see you hurt, I don't know the exact reason of that, but I do hurt when you're injured…"

Tenten's iris dilated and she stared in awe at the man before her.

"…yes, you probably think I'm an asshole for not saying this before, and that this is the most ridiculous time to actually confess this to you, but I do care for you, Tenten…"

Her mind shut down, and her heart started fluttering at his every word, the way his mouth moved to every rhythmic sound he made… she was beyond bewildered.

"…you're the only person I would tell my worries and burdens to. I admit also that you were right the whole time about where my home was. I also admit that I insisted that you weren't because I wanted to spend more time with you, walking along the streets, and finally have enough courage to say this to you…"

"Neji…"

"Don't get me wrong though, I have no intention of marrying you."

Tenten punched him, hard. Just when he thought that he screwed up the whole thing, she started laughing.

"I love you too, Hyuuga."

He was taken aback.

"But, don't get me wrong, I have no intention of marrying you."

He smirked, and carried a smiling Hinata back to the compound.

They spent the whole night walking, hand in hand, not caring about anybody else. By dawn, they would break up. But who cared, they still had every other night to mend.

* * *

**Sorry to disappoint with no kiss scenes. Because i think that Nejiten are still pretty responsible shinobi, and that a story didn't have to have a kiss scene in order to be romantic.**

**in the end, fate got them, but they still managed to find a way through. **

**that's why i hate them, for luring us into something impossible, then making us sad with their star-crossed lovers' fate...**

**but, that's also why they're awesome! haha, thanks for reading, and thank you for reviewing if you did...**

**it was my first nejiten fic, and i will certainly make more of those**

**LET THE NEJITEN VIRUS INFECT THE WHOLE WORLD!**


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